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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 916 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 916

 To facilitate appropriate oil and gas development on Federal land and 
waters, to limit the dependence of the United States on foreign sources 
                of oil and gas, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 9, 2011

 Mr. Bingaman introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To facilitate appropriate oil and gas development on Federal land and 
waters, to limit the dependence of the United States on foreign sources 
                of oil and gas, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Oil and Gas 
Facilitation Act of 2011''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary.
                      TITLE I--OIL AND GAS LEASING

Sec. 101. Extension of Oil and Gas Permit Processing Improvement Fund.
Sec. 102. Facilitation of coproduction of geothermal energy on oil and 
                            gas leases.
                   TITLE II--OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

Sec. 201. Comprehensive inventory of outer Continental Shelf resources.
Sec. 202. Alaska OCS permit processing coordination office.
Sec. 203. Phase-out of mandatory Outer Continental Shelf deep water and 
                            deep gas royalty relief for future leases.
                        TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 301. Facilitation of Alaska natural gas pipeline.
Sec. 302. Exemption of trans-Alaska oil pipeline system from certain 
                            requirements.
Sec. 303. Permits for natural gas pipeline in Denali National Park and 
                            Preserve.

SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY.

    In this Act, the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
Interior.

                      TITLE I--OIL AND GAS LEASING

SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF OIL AND GAS PERMIT PROCESSING IMPROVEMENT FUND.

    Section 35(c) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(c)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated from the Fund, or to the extent adequate 
        funds in the Fund are not available from miscellaneous receipts 
        of the Treasury, for the coordination and processing of oil and 
        gas use authorizations and for oil and gas inspection and 
        enforcement on onshore Federal land under the jurisdiction of 
        the Pilot Project offices described in section 365(d) of the 
        Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924(d)) $20,000,000 for 
        each of fiscal years 2016 through 2020, to remain available 
        until expended.''.

SEC. 102. FACILITATION OF COPRODUCTION OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ON OIL AND 
              GAS LEASES.

    Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 
1003(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Land subject to oil and gas lease.--Land under an oil 
        and gas lease issued pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
        U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 
        Lands (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) that is subject to an approved 
        application for permit to drill and from which oil and gas 
        production is occurring may be available for leasing under 
        subsection (c) by the holder of the oil and gas lease--
                    ``(A) on a determination that--
                            ``(i) geothermal energy will be produced 
                        from a well producing or capable of producing 
                        oil and gas; and
                            ``(ii) the public interest will be served 
                        by the issuance of such a lease; and
                    ``(B) in order to provide for the coproduction of 
                geothermal energy with oil and gas.''.

                   TITLE II--OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

SEC. 201. COMPREHENSIVE INVENTORY OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF RESOURCES.

    (a) In General.--Section 357 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 
U.S.C. 15912) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking the first sentence of the matter 
                preceding paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 
                ``The Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive inventory 
                of oil and natural gas (including executing or 
                otherwise facilitating seismic studies of resources) 
                and prepare a summary (the latter prepared with the 
                assistance of, and based on information provided by, 
                the heads of appropriate Federal agencies) of the 
                information obtained under paragraph (3), for the 
                waters of the United States Outer Continental Shelf 
                (referred to in this section as the `OCS') in the 
                Atlantic Region, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and the 
                Alaska Region.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``3-D'' and inserting ``2-D 
                        and 3-D''; and
                            (ii) by adding ``and'' at the end; and
                    (C) by striking paragraphs (3) through (5) and 
                inserting in the following:
            ``(3) use existing inventories and mapping of marine 
        resources undertaken by the National Oceanographic and 
        Atmospheric Administration and with the assistance of and based 
        on information provided by the Department of Defense and other 
        Federal and State agencies possessing relevant data, and use 
        any available data regarding alternative energy potential, 
        navigation uses, fisheries, aquaculture uses, recreational 
        uses, habitat, conservation, and military uses.''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Implementation.--The Secretary shall carry out the inventory 
and analysis under subsection (a) in 3 phases, with priority given to 
all or part of applicable planning areas of the outer Continental 
Shelf--
            ``(1) estimated to have the greatest potential for energy 
        development in barrel of oil equivalent; and
            ``(2) outside of any leased area or area scheduled for 
        leasing prior to calendar year 2011 under any outer Continental 
        Shelf 5-year leasing program or amendment to the program under 
        section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 
        1344).
    ``(c) Plan.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to the 
        Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 
        a report that provides a plan for executing or otherwise 
        facilitating the seismic studies required under this section, 
        including an estimate of the costs to complete the seismic 
        inventory by region and environmental and permitting activities 
        to facilitate expeditious completion.
            ``(2) First phase.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
        of enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit to 
        Congress a report describing the results of the first phase of 
        the inventory and analysis under subsection (a).
            ``(3) Subsequent phases.--Not later than 2 years after the 
        date on which the report is submitted under paragraph (2) and 2 
        years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
        report describing the results of the second and third phases, 
        respectively, of the inventory and analysis under subsection 
        (a).
            ``(4) Public availability.--A report submitted under 
        paragraph (2) or (3) shall be--
                    ``(A) made publicly available; and
                    ``(B) updated not less frequently than once every 5 
                years.''.
    (b) Relationship to 5-Year Program.--The requirement that the 
Secretary carry out the inventory required by the amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall not be considered to require, authorize, or 
provide a basis or justification for delay by the Secretary or any 
other agency of the issuance of any outer Continental Shelf leasing 
program or amendment to the program under section 18 of the Outer 
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1344), or any lease sale 
pursuant to that section.
    (c) Permits.--Nothing in this section or an amendment made by this 
section--
            (1) precludes the issuance by the Secretary of a permit to 
        conduct geological and geophysical exploration of the outer 
        Continental Shelf in accordance with the Outer Continental 
        Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) and other applicable 
        law; or
            (2) otherwise alters the requirements of applicable law 
        with respect to the issuance of such a permit or any other 
        activities undertaken by the Secretary in connection with the 
        inventory.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section, to be available until expended 
without fiscal year limitation--
            (1) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 
        2017; and
            (2) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.

SEC. 202. ALASKA OCS PERMIT PROCESSING COORDINATION OFFICE.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a regional joint 
outer Continental Shelf lease and permit processing office for the 
Alaska outer Continental Shelf region.
    (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into a 
        memorandum of understanding for the purposes of carrying out 
        this section with--
                    (A) the Secretary of Commerce;
                    (B) the Chief of Engineers;
                    (C) the Administrator of the Environmental 
                Protection Agency; and
                    (D) any other Federal agency that may have a role 
                in permitting activities.
            (2) State participation.--The Secretary shall request that 
        the Governor of Alaska be a signatory to the memorandum of 
        understanding.
    (c) Designation of Qualified Staff.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
        the signing of the memorandum of understanding under subsection 
        (b), each Federal signatory party shall, if appropriate, assign 
        to the office described in subsection (a) an employee who has 
        expertise in the regulatory issues administered by the office 
        in which the employee is employed relating to leasing and the 
        permitting of oil and gas activities on the outer Continental 
        Shelf.
            (2) Duties.--An employee assigned under paragraph (1) 
        shall--
                    (A) not later than 90 days after the date of 
                assignment, report to the office described in 
                subsection (a);
                    (B) be responsible for all issues relating to the 
                jurisdiction of the home office or agency of the 
                employee; and
                    (C) participate as part of the applicable team of 
                personnel working on proposed oil and gas leasing and 
                permitting, including planning and environmental 
                analyses.
    (d) Transfer of Funds.--For the purposes of coordination and 
processing of oil and gas use authorizations for the Alaska outer 
Continental Shelf region, the Secretary may authorize the expenditure 
or transfer of such funds as are necessary to--
            (1) the Secretary of Commerce;
            (2) the Chief of Engineers;
            (3) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
        Agency;
            (4) any other Federal agency having a role in permitting 
        activities; and
            (5) the State of Alaska.
    (e) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this section affects--
            (1) the operation of any Federal or State law; or
            (2) any delegation of authority made by the head of a 
        Federal agency for employees that are assigned to the 
        coordination office.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2012 through 2022, to remain available until expended.

SEC. 203. PHASE-OUT OF MANDATORY OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF DEEP WATER AND 
              DEEP GAS ROYALTY RELIEF FOR FUTURE LEASES.

    (a) In General.--Sections 344 and 345 of the Energy Policy Act of 
2005 (42 U.S.C. 15904, 15905) are repealed.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary shall not be required to provide 
for royalty relief in the lease sale terms beginning with the first 
lease sale held on or after the date of enactment of this Act for which 
a final notice of sale has not been published.

                        TITLE III--MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 301. FACILITATION OF ALASKA NATURAL GAS PIPELINE.

    Section 116 of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act (15 U.S.C. 720n) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by inserting before the 
                period at the end the following: ``, except that a 
                holder of a certificate may request the Secretary to 
                extend the period to issue Federal guarantee 
                instruments for not more than 180 days following the 
                date of resolution of any reopening, contest, or other 
                proceeding relating to the certificate''; and
                    (B) in the second sentence, by inserting before the 
                period at the end the following: ``, or connecting to 
                pipeline infrastructure capable of delivering 
                commercially economic quantities of natural gas to the 
                continental United States'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (2);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 
                paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and
                    (C) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), by 
                striking ``and completion guarantees'';
            (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ``$18,000,000,000'' 
        and inserting ``$30,000,000,000'';
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), by 
                inserting before the period at the end the following: 
                ``, except that an issued loan guarantee instrument 
                shall apply to not less than 80 percent of project 
                costs unless by previous consent of the borrower''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``An eligible'' 
                and inserting ``A''; and
            (5) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) by striking paragraph (2);
                    (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 
                paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and
                    (C) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated), by 
                inserting before the period at the end the following: 
                ``under subsection (a)(3), including direct lending 
                from the Federal Financing Bank of all or a part of the 
                amount to the holder, in lieu of a guarantee''.

SEC. 302. EXEMPTION OF TRANS-ALASKA OIL PIPELINE SYSTEM FROM CERTAIN 
              REQUIREMENTS.

    The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act (43 U.S.C. 1651 et 
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 208. EXEMPTION OF TRANS-ALASKA OIL PIPELINE SYSTEM FROM CERTAIN 
              REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), no part of 
the trans-Alaska oil pipeline system shall be considered to be a 
district, site, building, structure, or object for purposes of section 
106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470f), 
regardless of whether all or part of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline 
system may otherwise be listed on, or eligible for listing on, the 
National Register of Historic Places.
    ``(b) Individual Elements.--
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary 
        of the Interior may identify up to 3 sections of the trans-
        Alaska oil pipeline system that possess national or exceptional 
        historic significance, and that should remain after the 
        pipeline is no longer used for the purpose of oil 
        transportation.
            ``(2) Historic site.--Any sections identified under 
        paragraph (1) shall be considered to be a historic site.
            ``(3) Views.--In making the identification under this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall consider the views of--
                    ``(A) the owners of the pipeline;
                    ``(B) the State Historic Preservation Officer;
                    ``(C) the Advisory Council on Historic 
                Preservation; and
                    ``(D) the Federal Coordinator for Alaska Natural 
                Gas Transportation Projects.
    ``(c) Construction, Maintenance, Restoration, and Rehabilitation 
Activities.--Subsection (b) does not prohibit the owners of the trans-
Alaska oil pipeline system from carrying out construction, maintenance, 
restoration, or rehabilitation activities on or for a section of the 
system described in subsection (b).''.

SEC. 303. PERMITS FOR NATURAL GAS PIPELINE IN DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND 
              PRESERVE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appurtenance.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``appurtenance'' includes 
                cathodic protection or test stations, valves, signage, 
                and buried communication and electric cables relating 
                to the operation of high-pressure natural gas 
                transmission.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``appurtenance'' does not 
                include compressor stations.
            (2) Park.--The term ``Park'' means the Denali National Park 
        and Preserve in the State of Alaska.
    (b) Permit.--The Secretary may issue right-of-way permits for--
            (1) a high-pressure natural gas transmission pipeline 
        (including appurtenances) in non-wilderness areas within the 
        boundary of Denali National Park within, along, or near the 
        approximately 7-mile segment of the George Parks Highway that 
        runs through the Park; and
            (2) any distribution and transmission pipelines and 
        appurtenances that the Secretary determines to be necessary to 
        provide natural gas supply to the Park.
    (c) Terms and Conditions.--A permit authorized under subsection 
(b)--
            (1) may be issued only--
                    (A) if the permit is consistent with the laws 
                (including regulations) generally applicable to utility 
                rights-of-way within units of the National Park System;
                    (B) in accordance with section 1106(a) of the 
                Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 
                U.S.C. 3166(a)); and
                    (C) if, following an appropriate analysis prepared 
                in compliance with the National Environmental Policy 
                Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the route of the 
                right-of-way is the route through the Park with the 
                least adverse environmental effects for the Park; and
            (2) shall be subject to such terms and conditions as the 
        Secretary determines to be necessary.
                                 <all>
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